In Crisis
Prayers

Lovcen Mountains National park at sunset in Montenegro

Prayer Contents

When the World Spins Crazy

When the World Spins Crazy

When the world spins crazy,

spins wild and out of control

spins toward rage and hate and violence,

spins beyond our wisdom and nearly beyond our faith,

When the world spins in chaos as it does now among us…

 

We are glad for sobering roots that provide ballast in the storm.

So we thank you for our rootage in communities of faith,

for our many fathers and mothers who have believed and trusted as firm witnesses to us,

for their many stories of wonder, awe, and healing.

 

We are glad this night in this company

for the rootage of the text,

for the daring testimony,

for its deep commands,

for its exuberant tales.

Because we know that as we probe deep into this text…

clear to its bottom,

we will find you hiding there,

we will find you showing yourself there,

speaking as you do,

governing,

healing,

judging.

 

And when we meet you hiddenly,

we find the spin not so unnerving,

because from you the world again has a chance

for life and sense and wholeness.

We pray midst the spinning, not yet unnerved,

but waiting and watching and listening,

for you are the truth that contains all our spin.

Amen.

Author:
Walter Brueggemann
Source:
From Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann. Prayed at the Lay School of the Pentateuch on September 17, 2001.
 
Keywords:

Prayer, in crisis, anxiety, wholeness, spin, faith

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